Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun... Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans," Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Daily Kor for Sunday, June 26, 2011

Maybe they should send these at night.

Like on most weekends, it's a slow news day. Keep dry (#1), wherever you are. Maybe stay indoors and read a history textbook (#4).

Downpours pound saturated Korean Peninsula as Typhoon Meari approaches (Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily)
Anti-Pyongyang activists send five large propaganda balloons into North Korea from P'aju (Yonhap, Korea Times, Korea Herald)
Prosecutors investigate allegation that former chief of National Tax Service's Investigation Bureau received 50 million won (US$46K) monthly from SK Group affiliate (Yonhap, Korea Times)
Six in ten young South Koreans unaware when Korean War started (Yonhap, Monster Island)

In speech marking anniversary of start of Korean War, Prime Minister Kim Hwangsik urges North Korea to stop "reckless provocations" and to enter a path to "co-prosperity and permanent peace" on Korean Peninsula (Yonhap, Korea Times)

Mosquitoes carrying Japanese encephalitis found in South Ch'ungch'ŏng Province's Yŏn'gi County, the first discovery this year (Korea Times)
Government to temporarily lift nighttime lighting restrictions on golf courses, a measure in force since March as part of energy conservation program, following court ruling in favor of golf course owners who'd sought injunction (Yonhap)
Police investigation says Big Bang member Kang Daesung was partly responsible for fatal car accident when his speeding vehicle killed inebriated motorcycle driver who had already crashed and was lying on road (Korea Times, Joongang Daily, Korea Herald)

Following "positive meeting" with US Secretary of State, ROK Foreign Minister Kim Sunghwan offers Clinton weekend job tutoring his kids in English (Yonhap)

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Ask Kushibo.

My Google/Blogspot data shows that a lot of the 2 million people who have landed on my site (yes, that's the real number) are looking for cultural information on Korea (e.g., “When did Syngman Rhee die?” “What did the Indians bring to the first Chusŏk?’ etc., etc.), as well as practical or historical stuff.

That got me thinking that, hey, I have a master’s degree in Korean studies and a minor in Japanese studies, I’ve lived in Seoul far longer than most foreans my age (whether they're kyopo or non-kyopo), I teach introductory courses on Korea and its cultural trappings and history, so why not offer a free service where I attempt to answer people’s questions, point them in the direction of where they can get them answered, and/or offer my regulars (that’s you!) a chance to take a stab at some of this stuff, too.

So if there’s something you’d like to know from a “contrarian scourge,” click on ASK KUSHIBO and just ask a succinct question in the comments section below.

Oh, and play nice. Please don’t make me regret this.

九十五大怪獣란? 쿠시보의 몬스터 아일랜드란?

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun...
Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans" ("foreigners" in Korea be they kyopo or non-kyopo), Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County, and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

* Monster Island (actually a peninsula)

The name of this blog comes from a line in "Lisa on Ice," a beloved episode of The Simpsons, perhaps my all-time favorite television show (even though for several seasons there, it really did suck). Lisa is imagining being sworn in as president, but at the last minute, it is discovered that she failed P.E. (physical education) and she is thus "sentenced to a lifetime of horror" on Monster Island. "Don't worry," the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court confides in her, "It's just a name."

Fast forward to Lisa and other prisoners running in panic through a tropical jungle, chased by Godzilla-like creatures, including a monster turtle and a monster firefly.

"He said it was just a name!" Lisa screams to the man next to her. While he, too, runs for his life, the unidentified man calmly says, "What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula."

Anyway, I thought in some ways that punchline summed up modern-day Korea in a nutshell. For many people—foreigners and Koreans—the ups and downs and everyday travails of the Republic of Korea make it as precarious as a Monster Island would be (and with the DMZ being the only land border, it really is like an island). But it actually is a peninsula. Okay, it made sense in my head.

So as you can see, despite the hits I get from people looking for Japanese tentacle porn, it has nothing to do with anything salacious as that.

Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Daily Kor for Sunday, June 26, 2011

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